Doc Rivers seemed annoyed and agitated when asked about the Philadelphia 76ers' backup center situation heading into the playoffs.
"Let me clarify this one more time for everybody who struggles with this. When there is a small lineup—I'm going to say it slow, so we can all pick it up—we'll play smaller with Paul [Reed]. When there is a big five, we play bigger with DJ [DeAndre Jordan]. Do we all have that now?"
Sixers reporter Derek Bodner pushed back, saying over the last three games that hasn't really been the case.
"Just look at it, they've had big fives in," Rivers responded. "So against big fives, because of fouling, we like DJ. Do you understand that? We have a whole coaching staff who, I'm just going to guess knows a little bit more and they watch every game and they watch every practice. We believe against big fives DJ is good for us. We believe against smalls, Paul. Could we play Paul against a big five? Yeah, you could. You may get in foul trouble early in a playoff game, which could swing a game. I've been around a long time, trust that."
Sixers fans and media, who have been critical of Rivers this season, pushed back against Rivers' condescending tone.
The Sixers begin their first-round playoff series on Saturday at 6:00pm at the Wells Fargo Center against the Toronto Raptors.
